NEW DELHI: "I believe in pink", Audrey Hepburn had famously said. So do lots and lots of people - and companies.

In life, the colour pink has many associations. Pink slips are grim stuff. Pink cities, like Jaipur and Marrakesh, are considered as epitomes of urban prettiness. Pink ribbons are symbols of awareness about fighting breast cancer. Pink triangles are used as representational symbols for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Pink in politics means diluted left-wing radicalism. And the Chinese never had a word for pink till they came in touch with the West. So, the Mandarin word for pink literally means 'foreign colour'.

In certain lines of business, though, pink usually means one thing - a great marketing tool.

Early October, global mining giant Rio Tinto received a record $2 million bid for an Argyle pink diamond. The pink diamond was a part of its 2013 tender. Red hot prices for pink diamonds are the norm, not the exception. Auction house Sotheby's is expecting a 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond — described as "full of fire and light" - to fetch a record $60 million in an auction to be held this month in Switzerland.

Pink glitters beyond diamonds. It's the colour of high end marketing, a signaling mechanism for consumers who don't mind paying for branding attributes that include cool, sexy and being different.

The pink portfolio includes champagne, high end women's shoes and bags, lingerie, cosmetics and jewellery. Add to that list pink flowers for ceremonial decorations and pink scooters for making that really cool statement.

There are few better illustrative examples of the power of pink than the 2002 launch of 'Pink', a lingerie, perfume, apparels and beauty products brand from Victoria's Secret that targeted young women. 'Pink' was judged as one of the smartest market-making moves by Victoria's Secret.

Pink shines even in charity auctions. Priyanka Chopra's pink and spiky Christian Louboutin shoes - the actor-singer sported them in the music video of her debut album, Exotic - fetched a handsome Rs 2.5 lakh in an auction for a charity.

Marketing mavens in America have a phrase that sums up pink's proven success in targeting women consumers - pink it and shrink it. Make something pink, and make it small. The mantra would apply to India as well.

Pink, says Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing, IIMAhmedabad, is a colour that lends itself to many interpretations. For luxury products pink signals "cool" and "ostentatious".

For clothes and accessories pink is associated with in-your-face femininity. For diamonds pink means rarity. Because the colour has no fixed meaning, says Koshy, it can be used across categories.

Marketing strategies of a large number of companies in India bear this out. Rajiv Singhal, India representative of Comite Champagne, which promotes Cham-pagne region sparkling wines globally, says demand for pink champagne is growing in India.

The category accounted for almost 14 per cent of the 348,000 champagne bottles imported to India last year. Bear in mind pink champagne is about 30 per cent costlier than white wine. American luxury clutch brand Judith Leiber sells pink bags priced Rs 2 lakh and more. "Pink is the colour of choice after gold and silver", says Varsha Ahuja, brand manager, Judith Leiber, India.

Demand always outstrips supply Modi says, even though pink diamondbased jewelry can be up to twice as expensive as its colourless diamond-based counterpart. If a clear one carat white diamond costs about Rs 7 lakh, the same in pink will cost Rs 7 crore, says Modi.

Lalita Raghav, FNP's vicepresident, weddings, says pink is versatile, suitable for traditional as well as modern themes, and for day and night. Many women buy pink clothes, every marketer knows that.

Some men do, too. "Indian men would shy away from pink clothes. But some of them are now ready to experiment with pink," says Rajesh Jain, chief executive of Lacoste India. About aquarter of Lacoste's springsummer offerings for women in India are in pink.

For men's tee-shirts, the pink quotient has gone up from three shades to a dozen shades. May be the final proof of pink's success in India comes from the most unlikely product - pink two-wheelers. TVS Motors' sells 15,000 to 20,000 units of Scooty every month. Nearly a third of this 'forwomen' two-wheeler is coloured pink.